Process of and apparatus for protecting trees or vegetation against cold.



No. (SBLSENB.A Patented Nov. 13,1900. J. F. TUCKER. PROCESS 0F ANDAPPARATUS FDR PROTE-.CTING TREES 0R VEGETATION AGAINST C 0 L D.

(Application led May 29, 1899.)

QNo Model.)

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' UNITED STATES Artur Fries.

JAMES F. TUCKER, or BRooKsvILLn, FLORIDA.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING TREES OR VEGETATION AGAINSTCOLD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 661,898, dated November13, 1900.

Application filed May 29, 1899. Serial No. 718,672. (No model.)

orchards, berry patches, and other tender vegt etation from injury byfrost or freezing.

I have learned by observation and eXpe-.

rience that tender vegetation on the south shore of a river, lake, orother body of water usually escaped the blighting effect of frost, whilesimilar vegetation on the north side had been badly hurt and oftenkilled. The orange groves in Florida which have enjoyed the greatestimmunity from frost have been in nearly every case protected by a bodyof water to the north or West of them or, better still, both north andwest, the directions from which the severest cold in Florida usuallycomes. In Florida the deep water, rivers, and lakes are commonly fed bysprings, which contribute to the heat treasured up from the long summermonths, so that when a cold spell comes the air is brought in contactwith a body of water at a relatively high temperature-say 66 to 70. Thiscontact of the cold, frosty, or freezing atmosphere with this body ofwarm water causes a cloud of fog or vapor, sometimes quite dense, torise from the surface of the lake or river and completely envelop thelocality south and east of it, thus securing immunity to orange grovesor vegetable gardens that may happen to be there, and groves are solocated with the specific purpose of securing the protection assured bysuch conditions. This vapor by condensation makes sensible the latentheat, supplying the favored locality with both heat and moisture andraising the temperature to such a degree as to give more or lessimmunity from damage by frost or freezing. In Bulletin No. 23, W. B.186, of the United States Weather Bureau, published by the United StatesAgricultural Department, it is of water will evolve enough heat to raisemore than five pints of water from the freezing to the boiling point.

My invention proceeds upon these principles, and it comprises means formaking an artificial fog in the orchard oroverthe ground to beprotected, in which means as leading elements I employ one or moreArtesian wells for supplying water, pipes distributing the waterthroughout the orchard, heating appliances for warming the water, pumpsfor forcing it to its destination, compressed-air appliances, andnumerous spray-nozzles distributed throughout the orchard for sprayingthe warmed water and converting it into a protecting blanket of vapor,in connection with other details hereinafter more fully described.

My essentials are heat and moisture applied in such a way as to makesensible the latent heat as an adjunct to the heat I actually apply. ForwaterI look, preferably, to Artesian wells, as they are usually of ahigh degree of temperature and remain unchanged by the cold of winter.In the absence of wells I seek the warmest water'I can find in thedeepest parts of rivers, lakes, &c. In Florida I have found Artesian andother deep wells to range from 72 to 84 and I think can reckon on 65 to7 0 for the deep water of rivers and lakes, my object being in all casesto obtain the water naturally warmest. My experiments have been madewith the natural water alone, and I believe that where the temperatureof the well runs high it will, for anything but the severest Weather, befound sufficient; but in order to make my system a protection againstany cold that may come to the fruit-belt I utilize the intense heat ofcompressed air, by

`means of which I believe Ican raise the temperature of thesealready-Warm waters to 100 or 110 or more.

My plan in its perfection contemplates the use of the compressed airpump whether needed as a water-lift or not.

Figure 1 is a plan viev@T of a plant for carrying out my invention; Fig.2, a detail of one of the spray-nozzles, and Fig. 3 is a detail of thelifting-ejector.

A is an Artesian or deep well source of Water-supply.

B and B' are concentric pipes (four inches, inside of six inches)forming a hollow space ecise between for compressed hot air which heatsthe water as it passes through the inner fourinch pipe from well A tocistern 3.

l 2 3 are covered cisterns, each withits coil of pipe through which thehot air from a compressing engine passes before being discharged intothe annular space of double pipe B B and thence down the well, where itacts as an air-lift, and P Hpump-house,with pump lo for compressed airand pump p" for pumping water.

C is a four-inch main connecting with Water-pump p.

I) to E is a three-inch pipe or feeder-main with inner series ofspray-nozzles.

G to H and H to I are one-andone-half-inch pipes with outer series ofspray-nozzles.

D to F is a one-and-one-lialf-inch pipe with inner series ofspray-nozzles.

J, K, L, M, and N are one-and-one-fourth inch pipes with interiorspray-nozzles.

S and S are high board fences, which may be used on the Windward side ofthegrove to break the force of the wind and hold the vapor from beingblown away when the wind is too high.-

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The air-com pressing pumppdischarges its hot air into the coils c ot the several tanks l 2 8 andthence into the a-nnular space between pipes B and B', and thence at thewell passes'into an Vejector-pipe B2, Fig. 3, that helps to lift thewater out of the Artesian well. The water from the wellflowingthroughinner pipe B is warmed by the surrounding body of heated air and is alsofurther heated by hot air in coils c, where it surrounds them in thecisterns. After cistern 3 is filled the water, by overiiow or watergates, passes'into cistern 2, where a still higher temperature isattained. Cistern 2 being filled by overflow or water gate, water passesinto cistern l, where the fresh hot Aair passing from the compressorthrough the coil gives a still higher degree of heat.V From cistern lthe hot water is taken by the steam pumping-enginep and forced throughthe mains and out of the spray-nozzles at any degree of pressurerequired, thus securing a thorough impregnation of the atmosphere overthe ground to be protected with a dense and warm mist. The pipes runningthrough the orchard are from one to two feet underground, andconnections therefrom with -suitable valves rise at intervals andconnect with spray-nozzles, as shown in Fig. 2. Suitable valves alsocontrol` the several mains. For ordinary purposes the two outerguard-lines may be sufficient, since nearly all Florida cold spells areaccompanied by winds of considervable velocity and these winds willsweep the vapor through the grove as it does the mist or fog that risesfrom a body of water to north or west of a grove, and I may even withoutheating the water bathe the grove in-a hotter and moister atmospherethan is done by a covered, so as to treasure up the heat, is that I maybe able to hold the water there from one to three hours with theair-pump-Working at full'capacity in order to be sure of a sufficientheat to overcome the severest cold that may ever come to the orangesection, thus making the grower perfectly secure. In all cases I wouldadvise instead of one engine two small ones representing the samecapacity, the duplicate system being a protection against accidenttomachinery at a time when it might prove fatal. The sprays would beadjustable, so as to open a larger orifice land be used for irrigationwhen del sired, and cistern l can be used for the preparation of theemulsion for treating the trees for scale and other insect enemies. Whenthe hot compressed air issues from the ejector in the Artesian well, itminglesr with and is carried along by the water inA its travel to thespray-nozzles. This not only insures the utilization of all the units ofheat in this air, but it also when issuing at the spray-nozzles alongwith the water forms an atomizing-blast that produces a fine comminutionof the Water and produces the physical characteristics of a fog. Thatthis may be understood more clearly I would -state I am awarethat asystem of underground pipes with ordinary spray-nozzles have heretoforebeen used for irrigating purposes, but in such case the wa- Vter issuesin solid streams for watering purvand `especially heated air, causes theWater to be atomized or comm'inuted to an eXtreme degree, whichpai-takes `ol" the nature of a fog or mistwhchhangsintheairwiththephysicalresults described and with which my wind-break fences areespecially correlated, as the ten uous character of the mist producedrenders it more liable to be dissipated by wind. With the powerfulagency of pumps and windbreaks Vwhich I employ I am enabled to project aWarm fog into the atmosphere and to preserve this condition during thedanger period against ordinary winds long enough to protect the trees orvegetation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. An apparatus for protecting trees and vegetation from cold,comprising a system of pipes extending at close inter'vals through thefield and provided with spray-nozzles distributed along the same, asource of watersupply connected thereto, and means for forcing a mixtureof air and water to the nozzles and energizing its issue in an atomizedmist or fog throughout the protected area, substantially as and for thepurpose described. 2. An apparatus for protecting trees and vegetationfrom cold, comprising a source of water-supply, means for heating it,pipes for transferring the artificially-heated water t0 areos thefields, means for energizing the passage of water through the same, saidpipes being extended at close intervals through the fie-ld and made ofgradually-decreasing diameter as they extend to a more remote point fromthe supply and spray-nozzles connected with the system of pipes anddistributed at close intervals over the entire field to produce aprotecting blanket of mist over the field and injecting iuto theatmosphere heat and moisture substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

3. An apparatus for protecting trees and vegetation from cold,comprising a system of pipes, two series of said pipes being to thenorth and west of and extending at close intervals through the field andprovided with spray-nozzles distributed along the saine, a source ofwater-supply connected thereto, means for heating it, a means fortransferring the artifieially-heated water to the nozzles and energizingits issue in the form of a mist throughout the protected area, and awind break or shield which in combination with the two series of spraysto north and west hold the mist over said area substantially asdescribed.

4. An apparatus for protecting trees and vegetation from cold comprisinga system of pipes extending at close intervals through the field andprovided with spray-nozzles distributed along the same, a source ofwatersupply connected thereto, means for heating the Water, and meansfor introducing air and forcing it through the nozzles to atomize thewater and form an enveloping blanket of mist throughout the lieldsubstantially as described.

5. An apparatus for protecting trees and vegetation from cold,comprising asystem ot pipes with spray-nozzles extending at closeintervals and distributed throughout the entire' source of supply havingan issue-pipe with an ejector-nozzle within the same, two concentricpipes one connected with the waterpipe from the well and the other withthe ejector-pipe, a pump drawing water from one of the concentric pipes,and an air-compres sor forcing hot air through the other concen-V tricpipe in reverse direction to the water flow and connecting with theejector-nozzle and a system of pipes with spray-nozzles connecting withthe water-supply and extending at close intervals throughout the fieldsubstantially as and for the purpose described.

7. An apparatus for protecting trees and vegetation from cold,consisting of a source of water supply two pipes arranged one within,the other, a cistern with heating-coils communicating with the annularspace between the two pipes, an air-compressor communicating with thecoils and annular space between the pipes, a water-forcing pump, and aseries of distributing-pipes and spray-nozzles extending at closeintervals throughout the field substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

J AMES F. TUCKER. Witnesses:

CHARLES A. MAXWELL, PHILIP S. NORTH.

